Engineers Without Borders

Despite a very inconvenient road blockade in La Paz earlier this week, the travel team is now all together and on their way to Suncallo as I write this. When they return we should have a good feel for the next priorities in the community and can begin planning our next actions. Because all the travelers will not be back in time for the scheduled May 23rd meeting, we’ve decided to cancel it and instead plan for a presentation about the trip at the June 13th meeting (5:30 Rockrimmon Library). This will be a great opportunity for old and new members alike to learn what is happening in Suncallo and help decide where the chapter goes from here.

In other news the chapter did receive an EWB Spring Grant! Special thanks to Barb who led the successful application effort. Susanne and I also worked with some graphic arts students at PPCC who have created a very appealing brochure for our chapter. We hope to have a finalized version of that brochure ready when we make a presentation to the Colorado Springs Rotary Club in June, and then hope that talk will help lead to an ongoing partnership with Rotary… Lastly, I want to thank the students from UCCS who raised funds and bought gifts for the team to take to the school children of Suncallo – thanks James and Meral!

A lot has been happening with the Colorado Springs Professional EWB chapter in recent months but we’ve neglected to update the website… So here’s an update. First, we’ve completed the design work for building a second ravine crossing in Suncallo, Bolivia and have presented our concept to the Technical Advisory Committee. Second, a team of 5 members will travel to Bolivia in May to build that crossing, monitor our previous structures and work with the community to prioritize future projects. And third, we’ve completed a comprehensive grant application in hopes of funding another trip in the fall. Fourth, we’re working with a class at PPCC to develop some more professional looking literature to describe our activities. And fifth, we’re partnering with some students at UCCS who have tried to start an EWB chapter there.

Our meetings have somewhat ad hoc recently as we are preparing for the next trip but if you are interested in getting involved please contact us for further information. We generally meet in the Rockrimmon Library meeting room at 5:30 but the specific day have varied due to scheduling conflicts.

We’re in the final stages of developing and submitting the proposal for our Spring trip to Suncallo, Bolivia. Here is a working list of the tasks we hope to accomplish. Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 1st, at 5:30 in the Rockrimmon Library community room. All are welcome!

IMPLEMENTATION
* Build the second ravine crossing

MONITORING (of past projects)
* Assure that the first ravine crossing is functioning properly
* Assure that the water storage tank is functioning properly
– Is overflow occurring at the tank?
– Is this water being utilized?
– Should the shut off valve be utilized to prevent the overflow?
* Measure the flow rate at homes served by the tank
– Are the community needs being met?
* Are individuals paying a nominal fee for water as per the MOU?
* Perform water quality testing at tank – set up purification schedule if needed
* Collect perspective (from teacher?) on impact of enhanced water system on childhood sickness rates

ASSESSMENT (for future projects)
* Tap stands
– GPS locations for additional tap stands – how many?
– Pipe routing and lengths that will be required?
– Review potential tap stand designs with community
* Irrigation
– How can the overflow from the tank be used for irrigation?

TRAINING
* Repair of existing system
– Walk pipeline and repair leaks training community members on process
– Fix all leaking taps training community members on process
* Other training?
– Water tank purification
– ???

COMMUNITY RELATIONS
* Review current projects and future priorities for Suncallo with community leaders – next steps?
* Understand role of Italian NGO doing work in Suncallo and whether that impacts us
* Assess level of community support (did last year’s problems get solved?)
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